NC Political Connections By News 14 Carolina reporter Tim Boyum
(At my house, I cannot get this channel anymore, as we were forced to give up cable due to poor bandwidth issues and move to the better performing Directv. Sorry Tim.)

Fern Shubert Speaks for UsPublished by admirers of former Senator Fern Shubert. Shubert served the ole' North State well, until stepping down from her office to make a run for Governor in 2004. While she is greatly missed from office, she knows where the "bodies are buried" and is still found digging up the truth.

ARRA News ServiceNews for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & country. We seek to uphold traditional family values, Republican principles & ideals, limited government, free markets to promote innovation, & individual freedom. The ARRA News Service is an outreach of the Arkansas Republican Assembly.

Crystal Clear ConservativeBlogger Krystal Weeks writes about N. Virginia and DC metro area politics, as well as national issues. Check her out!

Cuba Generation YThis 30-something blogger publishes at great risk to show readers outside Cuba what everyday life is like inside the oppressive, Communist nation. Think you like Communism...read this blog and think again!

Smart Girl PoliticsConservative Women bloggers, and a few men, who are here to refresh you when you are thirsty.

LadyBlogA modern take on traditional women. Classier than tea service. Like Fight Club but with better hygiene. Sightly more aggro than a cucumber sandwich.

The Political BylineOne of my fellow Top Conservatives on Twitter. Check him out! He's not afraid to speak his mind. Based in the Motorcity.

Capital LettersJordan Schrader covers North Carolina government for the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Sister ToldjahNational conservative blogger who tells it like it is. She loves North Carolina and occasionally picks up items from KCC on her blog.

Called 2 ActionCheck out this site, run by Steve Noble. He's a member of the religious right and he tells the truth as he sees it. He calls himself an equal opportunity offender. Check out what he has to say!

NC PoliticsNew Bern native (and your blogger's fellow high school classmate -NBSHS '85) Steve Hale writes from Pitt County about his take on the North Carolina Political scene. Check out his blog and offer up your comments.

Dateline ObamastanCary's John Byrnes writes about national, state, and local politics. He currently serves in the Army National Guard.

Driving With One HandKevin LeCount is apparently driving with his LEFT hand, as this blog is written by my good friend who works for SEANC, the union of the NC State Employees. His wife, Heidi, works at my alma mater, Meredith and are good folks, despite their political leanings. Check them out.

RNC

February 27, 2010

In a Friday press release, North Carolina's Senate Republican Leader, Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) urged our Governor to follow the Virginia State Senate in supporting offshore drilling for oil and gas so that Virginia would not get ahead of NC in job creation.

In a letter he wrote to Gov. Beverly Perdue (D-Chapel Hill/Trent Woods-outside of New Bern), he urged her to:

"'take the necessary steps to ensure that North Carolina is not outpaced by Virginia when it comes to offshore oil and gas exploration and the new industry and jobs that could bring to our state."

Perdue said in pre-election debates, that she favors drilling only in "existing tracks" which are basically in the Gulf of Mexico and are far away from North Carolina and wouldn't help NC job seekers.

During the 1998 RNC National Convention, the popular call became "Drill, Baby, Drill". That has since been printed on lapel pins and bumper stickers, nationwide.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Your blogger has a cousin who worked on offshore oil platforms in Louisiana for years. He would work for a certain amount of time on, then fly home for two weeks off, so he could rest and have time with his wife and family.

The work is hard, the hours are tough, but the pay is extremely high for a blue collar job. It allowed this man to take good care of his family, and save for a good retirement, if he wanted.

February 22, 2010

Was there a preacher in the house? There had to be, but that voice, it was unmistakably that of TV personality Glenn Beck.

The popular Fox News host started by saying how Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan are his personal heroes.

He admired Reagan's optimism. Like Reagan, Beck believes "it's still morning in America", though, he said, we may have to wake up with a hangover puking in the toilet first.

He warned that progressivism "is the cancer eating up America, and that it unfortunately not only infects the Democrat Party, but many Republicans as well."

Beck even condemned President Theodore Roosevelt (who I admire) as an early progressive. Beck argued:

"it's not enough for Republicans to just suck less than the other side. The GOP must admit its mistakes (an addiction to spending and big government) and reform itself".

He compared the GOP's failings to those of golfer Tiger Woods. Beck asserted that, like Woods, all addicts will continue their behavior as long as they do not get caught.

He then asked the same question everyone has been asking Woods, to the GOP: "You got caught! Are you sorry?"

Beck says he'd be more than happy to support the Republican Party if they only admitted their mistakes and showed genuine contrition. He wants them to do honest soul searching.

Then Beck noted that progressives are a political minority in this country, yet they keep advancing their agenda. How? Because they know how to package and sell their ideas. They've got Hollywood's help, too.

Beck stated that we have a right to fail.

Without failure, how do we learn and grow and improve? Why should a company be "to big to fail", so that it gets a taxpayer-funded bailout?

Beck cited his own battle to overcome alcoholism and the long way back. . He asserted conservatives believe everybody has the right to *pursue* happiness or success, not to be given happiness or success by the government. He insisted you don't have a right to free food, free housing, free higher education, or free medical care. You have to work for it and earn it.

Beck noted he couldn't afford to attend college, so he educated himself. He said there's no shame in being a self-made man, in showing ambition and working hard to become successful, so government shouldn't punish small businesses for working hard to be successful. Beck reminded the Marriott Ballroom crowd that business creates jobs, not the government.

Beck ended his sermon by promising that the future is not cast in stone. Our best days are not behind us. Our grandchildren do not have to have a lower standard of living than we have.

Watch Glenn's speech, as he delivered it on Saturday evening:

Editor's Note: This post, like all others at CPAC, was brought to you by our sponsor, RedState. RedState provided the Blogger's room and gave KCC the ability to cover the conference in a unique way. Not every blogger who applied received credentials, yet there were over 100 different conservative blogs represented, with a few liberals amongst us, as well. We all had a great time, and many thanks go to our fearless leader, Erick.

January 28, 2010

Newly elected Governor, Bob McDonnell (R-VA) did an excellent job in his response to President Obama's pack of lies and mis-truths. He is now a rising star on the national political scene and is a figure to watch. He'll also be at CPAC, and this blogger is looking forward to seeing him.

February 27, 2009

One of the many lessons of last November is that if the Republican Party is to remain competitive, we can't afford to do things the same way ever again. The Digital Age has brought about an unprecedented revolution in politics, empowering people like never before by giving them the tools to organize quickly and influence policy. The old "top down" paradigm of political authority and party structure we have so long relied on has been replaced by a very effective "bottom-up" form of activism.

When the average person can put up a Facebook page and create a vast network of like-minded "friends" or communicate to thousands of people instantly using technologies like Twitter, political movements can be quite literally created overnight.

The bottom-line here is that people don't need to rely on political parties or their often outmoded authoritarian structures the same way they did in the past. They don't need to wait to be told what to do or how to do it by responding to orders from above; they can make a real difference all by themselves.

To adapt to this new world, our party leadership should focus on empowering our folks --- rather than trying to control and micromanage everything they are trying to do to further our shared Republican cause. The world is far too interconnected now and things move far too quickly. We need to encourage this new spirit of individual activism as a Party by lending our support, our resources, our experience, and our wisdom...and then get out of the way.

By embracing these new technologies, we will be well-positioned to communicate our time-honored Principles as a party to a whole new generation of voters. We don't need to change what we believe as Republicans; we just need to be able to explain our message in ways that younger people will listen.

For a complete schedule of upcoming Republican meetings across the 11th District, please visit their website.

Luckily with Michael Steele as the new head of the Republican National Committee (RNC), we shall see just these things happen on a national basis.

Will they happen statewide? The jury is out. Currently, the NC GOP has zero budget for any technological advancements. Your blogger believes that members of the NCGOP budget committee, the members of the NCGOP Central Committee and the NCGOP Executive need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the current decade.

Those spots are plumb ones that usually go to the older, wealthy, members of our party, and not to the younger members, or to activists as often. Thus, such members don't always see the need for bottom-up management or technology.

Additionally, we MUST elect a state chairman who believes in these same values.

February 25, 2009

Please enjoy this live feed, when available, of CPAC 2009, compliments of UStream and Katy's Conservative Corner.

CPAC 2009 runs from Thursday until Saturday of this week and the streams will be made available during actual conference times. The conference agenda is also available. (If you are receiving this blog post via e-mail or RSS feed, you must go to the blog post to see the actual live feed.)

Earlier in the week I received a call and follow-up visit from a tradesman who had recently been laid off from the large scale work project at Biltmore Park in Asheville. This is a site of on-going major construction involving 12+ large structures. His issue of contention was the significant number of "illegal" workers employed by the various sub-contractors on the site.

To give you a sense of scale of this development project, the City of Asheville has a full-time on-site inspection service on the property that I attempted to visit today. During that visit I had the opportunity to observe that a significant number of the workers (I would estimate 50% of those I observed and/or spoke to directly) were of Latino descent. I spoke to 6+ subgroups that did not speak English - several did speak Spanish.

The gentleman who escorted me through the site offered that his co-workers routinely acknowledged being in the country illegally and working either under the table or through the use of false identification. I, of course, have no evidence with which to accuse these workers or their employers of breaking the law. Nonetheless, statistically 50-70% of those not speaking English are in the state/country illegally.

I am bringing this project to your attention specifically due to the large number of workers on site. I am also aware that your one visit to Mills Manufacturing has probably created more jobs for WNC (Western North Carolina) than the City's economic development efforts for the year. Arvato, formerly Sonopress, may be known to you as the company down the road from Mills where 50+ employees left the plant during your Mills raid. That company is to be commended for their subsequent efforts to hire legal citizens and authentically credentialed workers. Others have followed suit.

As an aside, the 2 elevator shafts in the six story Hilton hotel that is currently under construction were fully exposed on three observed floors. I appreciate your continued efforts to enforce legal immigration in Asheville and WNC .

Sincerely,

Carl MumpowerAsheville City Council
EDITOR'S NOTES: The author, Dr. Carl Mumpower (left, campaigning in 2008), ran unsuccessfully for US Congress in our state's 11th District, due to a huge Democrat tide, which voted closet liberal Heath Shuler back into office.

With Shuler expected to challenge Senator Richard Burr in 2010, thus leaving the 11th District seat open, the timing would be ripe for a Republican, such as Mumpower, to take the seat. Your blogger proudly endorsed Mumpower in 2008 and does so again, here.

If there is no "Draft Mumpower" movement for 2010, let it begin now. Not only was he not afraid of the Asheville liberal establishment, he was also not afraid of those in his own party.

We need Mumpower in Congress. We need his fearless ability to stand up to the establishment, even to those, such as the the Republican National Committee (RNC). Mumpower and others were vindicated when those old RNC "leaders" were recently thrown out of office, and instead voted in the more conservative Michael Steele and a completely new team.

Mumpower is the lone conservative on a "crunchy, granola" city council in Asheville, and is used to standing up for what he believes in, often when he is alone! That stance reminds this blogger of the late Jesse Helms, who often proudly stood alone, and never folded when he believed he was right.

(The photo at the top of this post: Copyright 2007 by your blogger, Katy's Conservative Corner/KTCreations.)

February 09, 2009

That's what I love about our party. Lots of candidates and a real battle. Democrats would never have tolerated such an election, using a rubber stamp instead.

I have watched Michael Steele fairly closely the past couple of years. He has been a courageous Conservative in a very liberal state of MD.

He has withstood jeers from blacks and been pelted by Oreo cookies. I'd like to see most white GOP members stand as tough when under fire. Steele is a Black catholic, very rare, which says something about his conservative convictions. He also believes the GOP needs to use more electronic means to reach voters in the future

I have encouraged a number of GOP leaders to go on the offensive regarding race relations in February, Black history month. Attached is something I put together. It underscores the long history of African-American Republicanism in our country, which includes one well-known member, Martin Luther King, Jr. We need to get this message out and stop being afraid to carry the timeless, good news of Conservatism into the poorest communities and liberal strongholds.

Download Black_Americans in Word format. This is an excellent resource and well worth the read! Please feel free to distribute.

Editor's Note: Kent Misegades, of Cary, is a frequent contributor to Katy's Conservative Corner. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Thales Academy - Apex

Your blogger has been preaching Twitter (and other technologies) in her attempt to drag our political party, often kicking and screaming, into the 2008 election cycle, even though it is now 2009. She has a few allies, including fellow bloggers over at ConservativeNC.

We were beaten, soundly, not because Obama was so popular, but because we were out organized at the grassroots level. Even former Congressman Tom DeLay (R-Texas) spoke on this very topic at the Winter Board Meeting of the North Carolina Republican Women. (More on this in another post.)

Thankfully, new RNC chairman, Michael Steele realizes that the modern Republican party must return, literally, to its roots and has fired the entire staff. He supports running things from the bottom up, as our party used to do.

Whether conservatives like him or dislike him, he understands the importance of technology, in conjunction with grassroots organizations such as North Carolina's Civitas Instutute or the NC Chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

Steele is one of the most popular people on Twitter, as were all of the RNC chairman candidates. Your blogger is glad to see this happening at the national level and hopes that folks in the counties across our great state will continue to pick up on this trend.

February 08, 2009

Though people try to pin a lot of the present economic mess on President (George W) Bush 43, he isn't guilty on a lot of it. Does anyone remember Ross Perot saying of NAFTA, "I can hear that sucking sound" going south if (former President Bill) Clinton passes this as he did?

NAFTA or “Shafta” as I called it, is entangled in this amorphous thing call free trade. In many respects trade which is not fair gives away our competitive advantages, can indeed compromises environmental quality and worker standards regardless of what folks purports, but such deals do meet the bottom line of unfettered profits as well as the quest for cheap labor.

As Hardy said to Laurel, "another fine mess you’ve got us into". It seems few have read the proposed Obama/Pelosi/Reid Stimulus package(s) which lays out spending the likes of which we have never seen, government socialization of banking with the automotive businesses to follow, nationalize health care with the computer based records system which will allow the government access to all your health information [even though Obama, Palin and Biden wouldn’t release theirs], and forestalls doing the real work of infrastructure repairs until its time to vote again for our representatives.

Obama is trying to ram this spending bill of pork and earmarks through before the American public wakes up. Thankfully some commentators have read it.

There should be no vote on the economic stimulus plan until Treasury Secretary Geitner rolls out the next plan for banks which reportedly exceeds an additional $800 billion. With the call for Paul Volker to head the economic advisers, a car czar and all these other political appointee paybacks to head things many had a hand in, one can only ask who is in charge or who’s on first? One thing is for certain, it is not the citizens and our pocketbooks.

If you want to create jobs which will benefit all of our citizens, why not provide:

- Small business stimulus to eliminate their taxes for one year, halve the rate the following year and equalize them with the corporate rate. It is small businesses which create over fifty percent of the jobs in America. Allow small businesses to buy medical insurance as a collective and not subject those with less than five employees to benefits requirements. [probably less than 100 billion]

-Expand the US Coast Guard and Public Health Departments by 100,000 to ensure emergency response capability in every county in the USA and baseline access to health services such as immunizations and screenings which would include mental health services. [less than 100 billion]

-Build “the wall” to slow the flow of illegal immigrants as the level of gangs in California and Texas demonstrates we are about to lose control of our borders if we don’t do things differently. [less than 100 billion]

-Give one billion dollars to every state for infrastructure repairs on federal roads, bridges, and highways with priority going to those projects which are already shovel ready. [50 billion]

-Give no more money to banks, but allow homeowners mortgage relief from those who already took money with a half payment holiday for one year and the balance tacked on to the last loan payment. [already gave the banks the money]

-And since we are in such a generous mood, give each taxpayer $5000 tax free to spend as they’d like.

All of this would cost less than the $800 billion which even the Congressional Management Office of the Budget says present bills would and these simple measures would stimulate the economy and create thousands of jobs.

February 02, 2009

If you are a Sarah Palin fan, like this blogger, you may want to spend a few bucks for her 2009 Calendar. The cover features her posing with a firearm, over her shoulder (left). Check it out here and get yours.

Editor's Note:KCC is a member of Team Sarah, an online group of supporters begun around the time Palin was added to the Republican Ticket, last summer.

She continues to support Sarah Palin and feels the Alaska governor got a bad deal in the "lame stream" media, last Fall. KCC isn't sure of the Governor's next move, but she is glad to see her staying active on the national scene. According to a writer on the Team Sarah site, Gov. Palin is working to "win back America for conservatives", which your blogger strongly supports.

Both your blogger and Palin are the same age, and were both in High School and College during Reagan's Presidency. We were both strongly influenced by his ideals and KCC is proud to see her take up the Reagan mantle and carry it forward.

KCC noticed, during last year's campaign, how many young people were excited by Palin, just as Palin KCC, and so many others, were excited by Reagan.

Could Palin be the "next Reagan"? Of course not, there will never be another. She'll definitely be the first Sarah Palin, and that's exciting.

February 01, 2009

I watched C-Span all afternoon and saw our delegation (Linda Daves, Dr. Ada Fisher and David Lewis) casting their votes for the chairman. It took five ballots but our new Chairman is Michael Steele.

I had the pleasure of serving with Michael on the RNC when he was chairman of the GOP in Maryland and got to know him and become friends. Michael has been to our state and our county (Guilford) several times. Cecelia Taylor had him here a couple of times for a state wide meeting encouraging minorities to become more involved.

Michael served as the first Republican (and African American) Lt. Governor of Maryland. He ran for US Senate but didn't win. He ran an outstanding race and had financial support from people all over the United States. Next, he became head of GOPAC (a conservative PAC) which was once run by Newt Gingrich.

Michael Steele (left) is a good conservative Republican and he will make an excellent Chairman. I know a lot of people have gotten to know him as a contributing spokesman for the GOP on FOX.

If you hear anyone say he was elected because of his color, you let them know they are wrong. He was elected because he is well qualified, a long-time Republican who has traveled all over the US, organizing candidate schools for Republican candidates. Most important he will be the Democrats worst nightmare.

The Democrats have tried in this last election to become the party of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln (as you know) was not a Democrat but a Republican . I think it is also interesting that all we heard about before, during and since the election is how Martin Luther King's dream has come through. This is true but I want to remind everyone that Martin Luther King was a registered Republican. Need I say more?

Editor's Note:Linda Shaw, currently a Guilford County commissioner, has served the National and North Carolina Republican Party in a number of positions. She is the immediate past Republican National Committeewoman and served as secretary of the Republican National Committee.

She, like her husband, former state Sen. Bob Shaw (R-Guilford), has worked tirelessly for GOP and conservative causes for years. Your blogger first had the privilege of meeting them both, as a college Freshman in 1985 and has admired them since.

Your blogger has enjoyed all three of the Civitas Institute's Conservative Leadership Conferences (CLC) and this one in 2007 was particularly exciting. She met conservative friends from across the state and nation that aren't necessarily involved in GOP politics, and that she is close friends with to this day.

Meanwhile, your bloggers' already conservative husband was so excited after this event, that he became an activist, too.

Your blogger highly recommends the Civitas Institute's fine programs. They always need your financial support, so they can keep the costs of these programs down. Please help them, if you can.

On Friday, your blogger enjoyed communicating with North Carolina GOP National Committeeman, Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), immediately after the election of our new RNC chairman, former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele:

He texted KCC the following statement:

"Michael will be an effective communicator and strong guiding hand in developing and implementing a 50 state winning strategy. I'm excited."

“I would like to personally congratulate Michael Steele on his historic accomplishment. North Carolina Republicans can be proud to be represented by a man of integrity and vision as our new RNC Chairman. The NCGOP will work closely with Chairman Steele and the RNC to renew our party in North Carolina. We will restore the party of Lincoln by building from the bottom up and reinvigorating our grassroots. As we rebuild the GOP, we will continue to stand on the foundation of conservative principles, continue to advocate for freedom, and continue to stand up for the values that Republicans hold most dear.”

January 30, 2009

This is a big day for the Republican Party in the United States. Are we going to stay the party of the mainstreamers and the non technical, or are we going to get with the times, and go back to the core values of the founders of our great nation?

Scroll down to keep up with the updates:

For those of you who have access to CSPAN, your blogger urges you to tune in and observe the election of our next national party chairman. There are a number of candidates and this is extremely interesting to this political junkie. FYI.

The candidates are:

Saul AnuzisKen BlackwellKaton DawsonMike DuncanChip Saltzman (dropped out yesterday, after passing out a negative song about Obama with racial overtones.)Michael Steele

UPDATE: All three of North Carolina's National Committee members were just on television and lined up to vote.

According to Brent Woodcox of the North Carolina Republican Party, Chairman Linda Daves and National Committeewoman Dr. Ada Fisher previously announced they had planned to vote for South Carolina's Katon Dawson. Woodcox was unaware of how National Committee man, state Rep. David Lewis, planned to vote.

UPDATE: 12:15 EST Current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and Michael Steele are the top two vote getters on the first ballot. Your blogger is crushed. She cannot believe that the members of the RNC would return that man for another turn as our RNC chair. Currently, we are guessing that Ken Blackwell will be the first to drop out. As someone stated on Twitter, it is hard to see his followers going to Duncan. Anuzis and Blackwell are the bottom dwellers.

UPDATE: 12:42 EST On second vote, ballots are red. JoAnne Davidson, a who is running current chairman, Mike Duncan's campaign, according to a source, is doing an excelling job running a very fair meeting.

UPDATE: 12:56 Mike Duncan, & former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele are tied for first at 48 votes each, and Katon Dawson is in second place with 29. Ken Blackwell has moved up to third at 19 votes.

Your blogger expects to see the others to drop out and the negotiating to continue. KCC, along with every other conservative in the country, is praying hard that Mike Duncan is NOT elected. He is part of the problem. The RNC is voting with PAPER BALLOTS which proves why we lost the last election. They know nothing about technology.

UPDATE: 1:15 EST Ballots now being counted. Conservatives nationwide crying for the ouster of Duncan. KCC wants to know WHO in the RNC is supporting him and that those in their states should fight to send those national committee members home.

UPDATE: 1:24 EST Have switched over to the Fox News stream. CSPAN has gone to something else. Guess they don't care enough about conservatives. 3rd vote now happening. Much speculating on how the vote will go down.

UPDATE: 1:55 EST Leading conservatives are worried about Steele winning the post. They say he is part of the Republican "main street" crowd and consider him a "squishy" moderate. Not the conservative your blogger and others love due to stance on gun control. If he wins, he needs to be reminded of 2nd amendment.

Most conservatives are, at this point, rooting for Katon Dawson of SC, and are hoping that Saul Anzis will make a deal to throw his followers to him. They are willing to do anything to block the re-election of Duncan, and the election of Steele. Conservatives want a leader who doesn't know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (Mike Duncan).

However, Dawson has problems, too. He was/is a member of a whites-only country club and many younger voters do not approve of that. That could work against him.

UPDATE: 2:10 EST What is taking the longest is that each member of the RNC must walk up to the podium, graduation style, to drop in their ballots. Seems unorganized to me. If I were an RNC member and had plane reservations, I'd be on the phone about now, cancelling them. Time to make hotel reservations instead!

UPDATE: 2:13 Time to vote again. Gees, this takes forever.

UPDATE 2:19 Duncan addressing group. He withdraws. YES! He notices "winds of change" and he mentions that the "results he wanted" are not there. He says it "was an honor to work with President George W. Bush". Your blogger thanks Mike Duncan for answering the wake-up call and quitting. God bless America! Holy cow!!!!

UPDATE 2:25 With Duncan out, he most certainly has thrown his people to Steele, one source says.

UPDATE: 2:27 Four now in race: Steele, Dawson, Anuzis, and Blackwell. After this ballot, your blogger predicts one more and then KCC thinks the race will be decided.

UPDATE: 2:42 Latest vote total: Dawson 62, Steele 60, Anzuis 31, Blackwell 15. Time for Blackwell and Anzuis to think of getting out and making this a two horse race. Many conservatives are complaining that the GOP needs a Black chairman so we can look like we "care" about minorities. Your blogger thinks that choosing a chairman based on race would be for all the wrong reasons. We should be past race by now.

More soon. RNC is now in a proxy meeting. More soon!

UPDATE: 3:10 Solid conservative Ken Blackwell has dropped out but has endorsed Steele. It's a fight amongst three now. Ballots are being passed out by the folks in the red hats. These ballots are blue. Looks like it could be a victory for Steele and not a true conservative. Your blogger is not happy!

UPDATE: 3:15 Graduation time again. RNC members are walking to the podium one-by-one, in order of their State name, casting their votes. This is probably the final ballot and your blogger is calling it for Michael Steele, fmr Lt. Gov of Maryland. KCC will support the winner and is just happy it is not former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan. We'd have preferred someone more conservative, like Katon Dawson, but KCC has no vote.

Steele is a fantastic speaker and conservatives on Twitter and nationwide are just happy that this is coming to a resolution. He speaks well to different groups so we'll see what he has in store.

UPDATE: 3:20 Balloting over. Ballot counting now.

UPDATE: 3:30 Steele ONE VOTE short of simple majority needed to win! Some good person is holding out. Imagine the king making going on now. VC Jo Anne Davidson says they will be back from recess at 3:43.

Your blogger ought to be able to muscle her son down for a diaper change in that amount of time! :-) He just hates them and is too busy for them.

UPDATE: 3:31 Looks like Saul is dropping out!!! Race down to Steele and Dawson. 6th ballot will be the final one!

UPDATE: 4:01 That last ballot, Steele missed winning outright by six votes, not one. Sorry folks.

UPDATE: 4:09 STEELE WINS OUTRIGHT. Sources tell your blogger that members of the North Carolina delegation were pledged to vote for Katon Dawson on the first ballot and were then going to switch to Michael Steele.

Your blogger hopes to see a better organized Republican Party, nationally. She is thrilled to see Mike Duncan go. We are getting new blood. Steele is popular with the younger members of our party. He's Steele IS now the man to lead our party to victory, and to speak to the former Reagan Democrats. In North Carolina, they were known as "Jessecrats".

Next up, are the other races on the bill. Congratulations Michael Steele, the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Liberals be afraid. Be very afraid.

Your blogger thanks North Carolina's members of the RNC: GOP State Chairman Linda Daves, National Committeewoman Dr. Ada Fisher, and National Committeeman state Rep. David Lewis. Lewis is texting KCC now.